Elven Lords
|upkeep_cost = |num_figures = |moves = |melee = * |defense = |resist = * |hits = |abilities = +20% To Hit Forester Armor Piercing First Strike }} Elven Lords are a type of Normal Unit. This unit is unique to the High Elf Race, and can only be built in High Elf towns, for the Construction Cost of . The town must already contain an Armorers' Guild for this to be possible. Elven Lords are shock cavalry, and are some of the most powerful Normal Units in the game. Their Melee Attack benefits from , and has the ability to Pierce Armor. If used properly, this attack can also utilize First Strike, to wipe out enemy units before they can even react. In addition, Elven Lords are very Resistant to Curses and other ill effects, and can potentially become immune to them. Elven Lords will almost always have at least one by default ("Regular"). This makes them even stronger than described above, and they'll just keep getting stronger as more and more is accumulated. Elven Lords require an Upkeep Cost of and to maintain. Failure to pay these costs will result in the unit being disbanded automatically. Unit Properties Physical Description Elven Lords are a group of tall humanoids in full plate armor - including red-feathered helmets - and mounted on swift brown steeds. They wield lances - long shafts of steel-reinforced wood used for ramming enemies during a charge. A hint of magic surrounds the Elven Lords at all times, guiding their weapons and allowing them to be more in-tune with the natural world. Elven Lords are a , containing when fully healed. Attack Properties The Elven Lords have the strongest Melee Attack of all High Elf Normal Units. They are a significant step higher than High Elf Cavalry, with both a better attack strength and a better chance To Hit. Furthermore, the Elven Lords' lances can tear through armor with great ease. Each Elven Lord's Melee Attack has a strength of by default. However, Elven Lords created from a town always receive at least one free , giving them each. This is coupled with a total To Hit bonus of , which includes the High Elf racial bonus. Together these factors give each Elven Lord an average damage output of per attack, a very high output for a Normal Unit. With all attacking simultaneously, the results are often quite impressive. Furthermore, Elven Lords possess the Armor Piercing ability. Whenever they engage in Melee combat with any enemy unit, the enemy's Defense score is temporarily halved. In other words, the enemy gets to make only half as many Defense rolls as it normally would. Thus, Elven Lords can effectively engage some the most well-armored enemies in the game (possibly even well-equipped Heroes) and still apply at least some damage to them. Naturally, enemies with low armor rating to begin with will generally suffer the full force of the attack. Finally, when Elven Lords make a voluntary Melee Attack against an enemy unit, they utilizes a First Strike ability. This means that instead of delivering their regular Melee Damage simultaneously with the enemy's Counter Attack, the Elven Lords' Melee Damage is delivered before the enemy can retaliate. In other words, any enemy killed by the First Strike does not get to make its Counter Attack at all, though it might still get to use a Gaze Attack if it possesses one. Note that while Armor Piercing is always in effect, the Elven Lords may not use their First Strike when Counter Attacking to an enemy's assault. This means that they will only deliver Melee Damage to their enemies, and will do so at the end of the battle sequence. Defense Properties Elven Lords are slightly better-armored than other High Elf units, possessing a Defense score of . This allows them to block about from any incoming attack. This should protect the Elven Lords from most low-tier enemy units, and gives them about the same protection from Ranged Attacks as High Elf Swordsmen usually get. On the other hand, Elven Lords possess the same amount of Hit Points as regular High Elf Cavalry, at per Elven Lord. This makes the Elven Lords somewhat fragile compared to their terrifying attack strength. This is one more reason why Elven Lords should attempt to maneuver and utilize their First Strike whenever possible, limiting (or preventing) retaliation damage from the enemy's Counter Attack. Elven Lords possess one of the highest Resistance scores of any Normal Unit. Their default Resistance is , but since Elven Lords almost always have at least one free upon creation, this is raised to . This score renders the Elven Lords completely immune to a few Curses and Special Attacks, and each additional Experience Level acquired will make the unit immune to an even wider variety of ill effects. Other Properties Elven Lords are faster than most Normal Units, moving at . This is crucial if they wish to utilize both First Strike, since it allows the unit to make sudden strikes, withdraw from combat, or outflank the enemy more easily. Like most other High Elf units, Elven Lords possess the Forester trait, which allows the Lords and any units stacked with them to move through Forest tiles at a cost of 1 Movement Point per tile. As long as the stack only contains units with a Movement Allowance of or more, the entire stack should be able to "cruise" through Forest tiles like they were Grassland - moving at least 2 tiles per turn. This makes Elven Lords pretty decent scouts, but only if there are plenty of Grassland, Desert and Forest tiles to move through in the region they are scouting. Basic Strategy Elven Lords are a significant step up from High Elf Cavalry, and are easily some of the strongest Normal Units in the game. Elven Lords are strong enough to take out enemy low-tier Fantastic Units with ease in one-on-one combat, not to mention the overwhelming majority of Normal Units. With Experience, proper use of First Strike, and/or several Elven Lords units operating together, it should be possible to engage and defeat even stronger Fantastic Creatures and experienced/well-equipped Heroes. Remember that Armor Piercing attacks means that heavily-armored enemies are much more susceptible than normal to this unit's attack! Elven Lords will only maximize their offensive capabilities when attacking voluntarily. Elven Lords can utilize their First Strike to cause severe damage to an enemy unit before it even gets a chance to fight back. This is very important in order to keep the Elven Lords alive, since they are surprisingly fragile considering their otherwise-respectable strength. For the same reason, it's important to try and prevent the enemy from attacking Elven Lords on its own terms. When they are Counter Attacking, Elven Lords do not get to use their First Strike, meaning they would have to rely on their to survive - and they don't have that many to begin with. Therefore, have your Elven Lords charge into an enemy unit, killing off a good number of straight away. Those fallen enemy figures do not get to deliver damage back at the Elven Lords, minimizing the risk. Proper use of Elven Lords can thus lead to a significant reduction of friendly casualties. Also always keep your eyes open for a chance to completely bypass your enemies and charge straight at the Ranged Attack units in their rear. These weaker units will surely suffer at the hands of the Elven Lords. Thanks to their speed, Elven Lords also make good early-game scouts - though they cannot cross Oceans and move slowly through rough terrain (except Forests). Also, they can lead entire armies through Forests at the same rate as through Grassland, allowing them to outrun other armies in such terrain. Ability Overview +20% To Hit * This unit has an extra to hit its target with every attack. This improves its statistical chance to inflict more with each attack it makes. Forester * This unit may move through any Forest tile at a rate of 1 Movement Point per tile. * When this unit is stacked with other units, the entire stack may move through Forest tiles at a rate of 1 Movement Point per tile. Armor Piercing * Whenever this unit attacks an enemy target (whether with a Melee Attack or Ranged Attack) the target's rating is temporarily assumed to be 50% lower than it really is. * This ability makes it easier to cause damage to heavily-armored targets. First Strike * When this unit makes a Melee Attack during its own turn, it delivers its Melee Damage before the target does. * Any enemy killed in the First Strike do not get to deal their own damage to the attacker. * First Strike damage is dealt after Breath Attacks and Thrown Attacks (if any). * First Strike does not work when the unit is Counter Attacking (i.e. when retaliating to an attack by an enemy unit). Experience Table The following table illustrates how Elven Lords improve as they gain Experience. Any properties that are not listed here do not improve with Experience in any way. * To achieve this level, either the Warlord Retort or the Crusade spell must be in play. ** To achieve this level, both the Warlord Retort and the Crusade spell must be in play simultaneously. Average Damage Output The table below details the average amount of damage that each in a Elven Lords unit will deliver with each type of attack, based on . It can be used in comparison to the target's Defense rating to figure out the chance of hurting that target. Acquisition Elven Lords are unique to the High Elves, and thus may be produced in any High Elf Town. A town must contain the Armorers' Guild to be able to produce Elven Lords. Should a town lose its Armorers' Guild, it can no longer produce Elven Lords until replacement structures are built. (Note, however, that Stables are not required.) Note that this building requirement means that Elven Lords produced in towns will always start as "Regular" troops (one free Experience Level), giving them a small but significant bonus above the default unit strength. The Construction Cost of this unit is . Elven Lords may appear for hire as Mercenaries. They may already have some Experience on being hired, and several units may be hired simultaneously. Hiring these units requires a certain cost in that depends on many different factors. Elven Lord Mercenaries have the same Upkeep Cost as a normally-constructed unit. Category:Units Category:Normal Units Category:High Elves